Crash

Title: Crash
Series: Crash Series #1
Author: Stacey Brandon & Karen Bell
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: December 15, 2015
On Sale on Amazon: $1.99 Limited Time

Charli has a plan for her life. It does not include the hot guy at table four. This is the first time she’s seen him at The Crash, the bar where she works most evenings. From the moment he arrives with his power suit, condescending friends, and unnerving stare, he’s hijacked her thoughts. It doesn’t help that he keeps finding ways to insinuate himself into her life. 

Logan has a plan for his life. It does not include the quirky little waitress at the new bar his friends discovered. He has a lot of obligations and very little time. If he needs a female distraction once in awhile, she isn’t the type of woman he normally looks to. Despite all of this, she has become what he wants most of all. 

Working to overcome all the things threatening to separate them won’t be easy. Can they find a way to meet in the middle if it holds the promise of happily ever after? 

This novel is book one in a series of three, but can be read as a "stand-alone" also. It's a new adult fiction with adult humor and recommended for 18+

I open my eyes and close them back quickly to remedy my mistake. Crap, I forgot to close the curtains again when I fell into bed last night!

I’m sure the intense light falling across my bed is the cause of my waking up before noon on a Sunday. My bar shifts make a normal human schedule next to impossible. As I lie in bed, willing myself to fall back asleep, I hear Liv’s laughter from the living room. That can’t be right.

Looking over at my clock on the bedside table, and seeing it reads only 8:00 a.m., I bolt up with alarm, truly and completely awake. Liv doesn’t do mornings. Has the zombie apocalypse started?

Liv can’t manage getting out of bed at a decent hour even after a night off, much less one where we didn’t leave the bar until three o’clock in the morning. I realize that not only is she awake at this unusual hour, but she sounds chipper. Is she excited at the prospect of taking out the undead? 

Yawning, I rub my eyes and shove my glasses onto my face. Then twisting my long hair into a messy knot on the top of my head as usual, I secure it with one of the ponytail bands I always have around my wrist for emergencies. 

Dodging piles of books, and last night’s discarded work clothes, I lumber toward the unprecedented noises. I have my bedroom door halfway open, and another big yawn stretching out my mouth, when I realize that deep, male laughter is now accompanying Liv’s. What the hell?

Peeking out into our overly bright living space, I squeak. I fucking squeak, and it’s not cute.

It’s too late to back out now, though. They’ve both heard me and whip around to look directly at my open doorway. I register Liv’s calculating grin and she looks rather proud of herself. She’s dead to me now.

With my heart thundering hard and heavy, I feel warmth flood my face and I stand in shocked silence as I identify her morning guest. Logan is here. Logan is here in my apartment.

  

“THAT is what all today’s shit is about? You think I’m dating Victoria?”

“Ummmm… Aren’t you?” My conviction seems to be waning.

“NO!” he explodes. “We work together and sometimes hang out socially with our group of friends, but we’re definitely not together. I don’t want to start dating her either.”

I wonder if he’s lying to me. If so, he’s really good at it. “But, she said she was with you almost every night this past week,” I throw back at him.

“When did you talk to Victoria?”

“I didn’t talk to her actually. I just overheard her at the bar saying she’d been with you.”

“Maybe you should stop eavesdropping!” he explodes.

“Maybe you should stop avoiding telling me why you spent every evening with her, but now say you aren’t dating her!” I cross my arms over my chest, shivering, and stomp my foot for emphasis.

“We’re working on a major business proposal and we’ve had to stay late several times. It’s just because of work. That’s why I haven’t had time to stop by the bar. We are NOT dating!” He throws his arms out wide and glares at me.

I’m relieved and I want to relax back into his warm arms, but I’ve worked myself into such a state of agitation, I can’t calm down. My temper has gotten the best of me and my mouth won’t shut the hell up. “Why not? She’s hot and smart and obviously wants you. Maybe you should!” Am I really suggesting to Logan, a guy that I’m totally lusting after, that he should consider dating someone else? Maybe I’m the one who is bipolar.

“Because I don’t want her, Charli. How can I make it any clearer?” He smiles sweetly and his voice has gone soft. It soothes me and I find I have no desire to yell at him anymore. “You are the person I want to go out with.”  

I swear, my heart has stopped beating. Walking back to where I stand in shock, he pulls me in tight and lowers his face to mine. Our mouths crash together and I think I hear the hallelujah chorus.

Oh, maybe it’s just Liv screaming, “Hallelujah! It’s about time!”

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Once upon a time, these two hookers became best friends…

Stacey Brandon and Karen Bell both live in the same small Texas town on the Gulf Coast, are happily married and the proud Moms of awesome kids. Stacey owns and runs a photography studio and Karen designs and sews her own children’s clothing line. They met over fifteen years ago when they decided to turn one large professional space into a single home for both businesses.

Well, that’s all the boring facts expected to be included in an “about the author” page, right? The reality is so much more fun. Stacey and Karen and their families spend holidays together, travel together… and generally turn every situation into something crazy and chaotic. They are both fluent in English, Sarcasm and Profanity and have decided the irrefutable proof of their best friend status is how often people assume they are “together” when in public. The poor husbands are good sports about it… and might even encourage this misconception at times for sheer entertainment value.

When Karen battled cancer… and kicked its ass… in 2014, they learned to value every day and quit worrying about what others think. Do what you love! Karen is happy to take advantage of the situation though. She loves to remind everyone she “had the CANCER, dammit!” and now she can always and forever claim the last brownie ;)

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